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pipestone (catlinite) carving

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Smokin Harley

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My wifes uncle and aunt co-own a small cabin in the Ojibwe tribe area of Wisconsin , not far from Hayward. They often go rock hunting and on their last trip they came back with a truck load of various rock and they let us come and pick some out for our yard as decoration. One rock in particular is a very attractive light reddish color and has a soft waxy like feel to it, like soapstone. I asked her uncle what it was and he said it is pipestone or catlinite... This is not small chunk of rock , this rock weighs about 10 pounds. As I read more about it the more I'd like to try my hand at making a pipe or few . I understand working it only requires a few simple woodworking hand tools . Im a carpenter by trade so I have plenty of those on hand.
Has anyone ever worked with catlinite?
I'd like any information or tips before I set out to make a nice presentation pipe and end up ruining 10 lbs of stone in the process.
I've never made a pipe in my life so I don't even know what size to make the hole to draw air from...or the bowl for that matter.
Thank you.
 

kullas

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When I make my clay pipes about the largest I make the bowl is the size of my thumb and sometimes a little smaller I use my pointer finger. Most of the time I use the JLR method. Just looks right.
 

Planter

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I prefer a 4mm (Knucklehead's 11/64") bore myself these days, and opened several of my 3mm pipes with convincing results. If you smoke shag/fine-cut/rolling tobacco in your pipe, that may not be the best choice, though.
20+mm bowl diameter is already what Savinelli calls "King Size" - esp. if your bowl comes out a bit higher a 3/4" (19mm) tobacco hole is probably a safe start.
Anyway, don't be afraid, without much previous experience I have carved some pipes from apple wood with nothing else than a hand-held electric screwdriver, a few drills, a hand saw and some sandpaper (several grit sizes). I pre-drilled narrow holes and made them successively wider (that way the drawing hole always ended up in a perfect position with a smooth channel - something I can't say about the one or the other store-bought pipe). While they are to a critical eye not exactly pieces of laser-sharp perfection, they do smoke very well.
Which makes me think, perhaps practice on some apple/cherry/pear wood before you attack the stone. You may end up with a couple of decent pipes and a really nice one.
 

Smokin Harley

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I just tried to drill a small hole in the stone...it is NOT soft or workable like it is supposed to be. All I got was a quickly dulled bit and a tiny dark dot where the bit spun the tip....I am now doubting it is catlinite.
 

DGBAMA

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Even though it is supposed to be workable, I suspect a masonry bit would be best for making holes.
 

FmGrowit

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If you use a masonry bit with appropriate drill motor, you'll turn a chunk of soapstone into a pile of gravel. Masonry bits don't cut in so much as they fracture or chip hard stone and concrete. Soapstone carves (shaves) really easily with a sharp knife, so a sharp drill bit works also.
 

Sid.Stavros

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I have 2 of them, it's something different so don't expect the Briar attitude.I think those RockCobs worth a try.
 

PeacePipe

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If one is to follow the oldest of the Native traditions they must listen to the spirit within the stone to be birthed into a pipe.. They contain a spirit and each piece of this sacred stone intended to become a pipe has its own Manidou that comes forth by manifesting itself through the Pipe makers hands and tools.. It is said as well by some makers that a pipe must also be made with intentions of its to be owner in mind and heart..

Perhaps you just want to learn to drill and bore stone, that is fine too.. Thought I would mention the most critical thing though to making a true sacred pipe even if you have no intentions of using it ceremonially you never know where a pipe like this may land once you have walked on. There are many people who buy and sell catlinite pipes but among traditional natives this is taboo and basically sacrilegious so I wont mention any of the many many crafters who sell these pipes.. Their are Pipe makers yet though like my Father who still carve and cut using the old ways but this is very rare to find these days thanks to the advent of power tools
 

CowboyTed

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I've made catlinite (pipestone) pipes before. While woodworking tools will work to carve pipestone, the stuff is far harder than wood, so you'll wind up dulling your tools in the process. As someone mentioned earlier, a lapidary will have specialized tools that work far more efficiently than woodworking tools for carving pipestone.

When I carve pipestone, I use mostly diamond drill bits and saws, not because the pipestone requires something so hard, but because I am a lapidary, so I have those diamond abrasive tools handy, and I'm not anxious to dull my woodworking tools. Diamond tools cooled with water work best for carving any stone, whether its soft like pipestone or turquoise, or hard like jade or agate.

One caveat to know about pipestone: it's stone, and it doesn't lend itself to making pipes in the same proportions a typical briar pipe. If you form a mortise and tenon joint like on a typical pipe stem/shank, the pipestone will be far too thin, and will not last long. You can forma joint like that, but it will last far longer if you shape it as a "fatty" or a " stubby" sort of pipe, with a thick shank for strength.

This is the catlinite that I've found at rockhound gatherings in the past. I haven't seen it in any different colors. The pipe, about the size of an inkpen, is one I use every night to smoke my "goodnight ganga." (For those of you who have trouble falling asleep, marijuana of the "Indica" variety is the single most effective sleep aid I've ever found. I'm thankful to live in Colorado where I can buy and use it legally.) I drilled the draft hole with a diamond-tipped drill bit that looks like a simple straight bit of wire with a diamond abrasive coating one end. I used a series of gradually larger diamond tools to drill the bowl, which is approximately the size of a pea. That's as much marijuana as I need to get to sleep, so a $6 gram of the stuff lasts me for weeks.

20170420_210741.jpg

The pipe is resting on a rough chunk of the same stone. It darkens up a lot, from pink to maroonish when you polish it.

If you want to make a tobacco pipe, look carefully at the stone to make sure it has no fractures. Many of he pieces I bought have some fractures you need to work around to get any larger carvings.
 

CowboyTed

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After writing that last post, I was curious to see how easily the stone works with woodworking tools. I tried cutting a small chunk with a woodsaw, and the saw cut into the stone readily. I also tried a simple wood paddle bit to drill it, and the drill sunk right in, so this piece, at least, was easy to work with wood tools. I can tell you from previous experience, though, that the stuff is not entirely uniform. You'll sometimes encounter hard spots that will quickly dull your tools.

20170420_220108.jpg
 

Smokin Harley

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Thanks Ted. Thats a nice piece of stonework. Yeah , my stone I was using does not look like that at all and didn't work that easy at all either.. Looks more like a pink granite .
 
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